eBay

judithsjewellery · ‎06-13-2018

So I get this email from Ebay that states:

"Canada Post Shipping Rate Changes

As of July 1st, 2018, the shipping rates you access through Shippo for Canada Post shipping services will change to reflect Canada Post’s standard rates.

You don’t need to take any action as a result of this change, and the new rates will be calculated automatically when you use Shippo to print a label on or after July 1st."

Clear like mud. Doesn't say what the discounts, if any, will be or are they just charging standard Canada Post rates now?

Anybody know what is going on?

momcqueen · ‎06-15-2018

“... i don't know if global shipping program in usa is similar to amazon prime or not but if it is, it needs to come to canada quick....”

There are no similarities whatsoever between the Global Shipping Program and Amazon Prime. Not one.

reallynicestamps · ‎06-15-2018

some unknown percentage stayed with PayPal, another percentage moved to Shippo and still another smaller percentage went to Snapship.

Just to be clear SnapShip IS Canada Post.

hlmacdon · ‎06-15-2018

@tomerific wrote:
ebay is a big enough company to do that and should have already done something like this with the amount of money they have made. it's 2018, ebay isn't broke. amazon has been already doing it with amazon prime and that is why amazon is kicking ebay's butt. i don't know if global shipping program in usa is similar to amazon prime or not but if it is, it needs to come to canada quick. even if it is only just somewhat better than what canadian ebay sellers options currently are.

Amazon is more of a logistics company and software hosting company these days. They can afford to build the infrastructure because of their revenue and market share which dwarfs that of other competitors. They also aren't terribly concerned with profitability (relative to free cash flow) given their rate of growth and shareholder confidence in their model. That rate of growth is how they can negotiate their costs and a willingness to make low margin and focus on free cash flow makes the whole darn thing workable. I don't think anyone is going to be able to replicate that model given it was really a first mover advantage when everyone else thought ecommerce was a flash in the pan. They are more of a service provider whereas ebay is still a traditional retailer/marketplace at the core, hence profitability matters in the absence of hockey stick growth. They really are completely different business models despite seemingly being in the same space.

The global shipping program has nothing to do with prime and is more akin to Chit Chats on a larger scale, targeting markets outside of North America. Ebay could theoretically replicate this in Canada, but the barrier has always been where do you position your distribution centers in the country (Mostly it is BC/ON/QC) and then the high domestic costs of getting product to a DC negates the savings. It works in the US because domestic shipping rates are cheaper and you have a large base of individuals and small businesses that like the safety blanket of having someone else be responsible for their international transactions.

A cross border solution like Chit Chats or another regional provider is the only real angle for a small business that wants to focus on the lowest rates to the US and internationally. FedEx and UPS do cross border consolidation at lower rates, but that is for volume retailers. The US model for this (as it pertains to international) is having postal wholesalers who are based directly at the main international airports where international mail goes out. They take your consolidated packages and do the sorting/customs legwork which saves USPS some bucks and you get the difference via an even cheaper international service/rate (commercial e-packet) than is otherwise normally available. Basically is what the global shipping program is as well. Again this is a volume play and only makes sense if you ship a lot of international packages per day.

lady.stark · ‎06-21-2018

After July 1st, I won't have any reason to use Shippo, except if I need to buy insurance for an expensive item. Otherwise, I'll go back to PayPal as we get the same rates - and we can choose our method to pay for the label *at the time of purchase*.

After all the fees increases we've been hit with in the last 2 years, I'm really beginning to feel eBay want to get rid of Canadian sellers. It is more and more obvious every day. 😞 We're probably the only sellers on the site without access to shipping discounts...

tobey_arih · ‎06-28-2018

Hmm.. well, this leaves me with a mystery if I have to switch to paypal after shippo. that mystery is I cannot use my CP SBA or UPS account. Won't go through. Never was able to get my accounts authenticated since I started way last yaer.

I will stay with Shippo because sometimes I have no choice but to use UPS (my discount is still active) for US shipments that are above the restrictions for Tracked parcels. DHL would be my last resort.

tobey_arih · ‎06-28-2018

Between Amazon and ebay, as a starter - Amazon gave little options with non-biz accounts. there was no way to create shipping options. One was stuck with their fixed, gimmicky shipping allowance - which doesn't even cover the cost at all. while the fee for biz acct was 36 per month alone and allowed to open up the options. tack on their gargantuan sales fee, stock fees, storage fees if one is going mass scale, I just couldn't justify it since I am going against the manufacturers in the market I was going in.

Ebay, well,aside for my little gripes, at least, you can still start small and go up from there and have all the options and control as an online biz entity. As when I started selling, I only had 2 + feedbacks as a buyer. With amazon, you are down at the bottom against established competition.

PS - Amazon listing creation was such a plateful of nagivation. it was mind-numbing.

cek12345678 · ‎07-03-2018

New ship eBay rates are BAD. I sent a package last week - one item expedited TO USA cost $26. this week the exact same item same package same weight cost $35 . $9 more - it is simply outrageous. now I understand the reason why eBay is offering 20% discount on seller fees to compensate for the increase in shipping. checked PayPal and the same rates. anyone find another way to get better rates with CPC???

cek12345678 · ‎07-03-2018

New ship eBay rates are BAD. I sent a package last week - one item expedited TO USA cost $26. this week the exact same item same package same weight cost $35 . $9 more - it is simply outrageous. now I understand the reason why eBay is offering 20% discount on seller fees to compensate for the increase in shipping. checked PayPal and the same rates. anyone find another way to get better rates with CPC???

momcqueen · ‎07-03-2018

Expedited Parcel USA isn’t flat-rate like Tracked Packet is for size and weight. Price also depends on destination.

Where was the first parcel destined? Second? What was the size in weight and lengths?

ypdc_dennis · ‎07-03-2018

@cek12345678 wrote:
New ship eBay rates are BAD. I sent a package last week - one item expedited TO USA cost $26. this week the exact same item same package same weight cost $35 . $9 more - it is simply outrageous. now I understand the reason why eBay is offering 20% discount on seller fees to compensate for the increase in shipping. checked PayPal and the same rates. anyone find another way to get better rates with CPC???

At most the difference in eBay rates would have amounted to $3 -- the other $6 has to come from other factors:

Packaging size (the volumetric weight surcharge: length x width x height in centimetres divided by 5000 is dimensional weight in kilograms, the higher of actual weight or volumetric/dimensional weight is used for Expedited costing).

Fuel surcharge: this changed monthly. To the USA increased by 0.75% on July 2.

https://www.canadapost.ca/web/en/kb/details.page?article=fuel_surcharges_on_m

Distance: Expedited USA is not one flat rate for all the US and territories

Cheaper Canada Post: commercial rates are available if you are shipping more than 1000 packages per year. Your Solutions for Small Business account will give better discounts the more you ship (level 1 is under $2500, level 2 to $5000, level 3 to $7500, level 4 over $7500/per year). Sign into your Canada Post account to find out what your discount level is.

Otherwise, check to see if you are near a cross border shipper (like ChitChatsExpress) that will take your package across the border for a small fee and allow you to use the cheap USPS domestic rates for US locations.

-..-

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎07-05-2018

Spotted this on the US announcement board. Curious to know if eBay Canada will ever be doing any more negotiating for it's sellers.

USPS Shipping Rates are Changing and eBay Has Negotiated Discounts For You

Dated 01/3/18

A discount is a discount and they should be negotiated for all sellers, not just US.

Bargaining power in numbers.

-CM

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-07-2018

eBay’negotiated’ the same commercial rate discount that sellers can get elsewhere such as stamps.com. In other words, they are spinning the information.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎07-07-2018

From my observations, eBay announcements rarely have any actual substance and would be very difficult to consider an actual improvement for your average Canadian eBay seller and quite often in the end, make things more difficult/frustrating. Yes, most definitely, they are very good at "The Spin".

-CM

otherside902 · ‎07-08-2018

USPS has so many affordable shipping options and Canada Post gives us an average of $3 for a 2 cm envelope without tracking number. Go over 2cm and the price jumps to an average of $15 with a tracking number. In US they can ship small boxes for less then $7. Don't even talk about China. We need a new shipping business model that would save us lots of money. City to city warehouse shipping service. Not door to door. Buyers would drive within their city to save $$$. I know they would because sometimes they drive 30 or 40 minutes away to pickup something from me.

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-08-2018

Some might drive to pick up an item but many people order online so that they don’t have to leave their house at all.

ypdc_dennis · ‎07-08-2018

@otherside902 wrote:
...We need a new shipping business model that would save us lots of money. City to city warehouse shipping service. Not door to door. Buyers would drive within their city to save $$$. ...

Already exists. It is called bus parcel delivery service. Ship and pickup from the inter-city bus terminals. Been around as long as ~~stage coach~~ bus companies have existed.

-..-

momcqueen · ‎07-08-2018

@happy_pigeon wrote:
@judithsjewellery wrote:
So I get this email from Ebay that states:
"Canada Post Shipping Rate Changes

As of July 1st, 2018, the shipping rates you access through Shippo for Canada Post shipping services will change to reflect Canada Post’s standard rates.

You don’t need to take any action as a result of this change, and the new rates will be calculated automatically when you use Shippo to print a label on or after July 1st."

Clear like mud. Doesn't say what the discounts, if any, will be or are they just charging standard Canada Post rates now?
Anybody know what is going on?
Hello all,

Sorry for the vagueness of the content... it was not intended to mislead, but to treat the matter as delicately as possible because there were a number of parties involved in this decision, and we as eBay do not wish to speak for all of them.

The rates we are returning to July 1st are Canada Post's standard rates.

Please know that this is not due to a lack of discussion on eBay's part--for obvious reasons, we very much wanted to keep this for our sellers. However, it was not possible.

Apparently, Shippo is getting a lot of frustration directed at them regarding this change--please note that Shippo had absolutely no participation in this matter. This is NOT Shippo's fault--in this case, they are an uninvolved third party.

Maybe the time has come for ebay to alter/edit the text on these leading-to-Shippo print label pages. It rubs salt into my open wound as a Canadian ebay seller plus it's false to state at this point in time. Thanks.